Acura TL Maintenance and Repair

Comments

Amen to all that above.After spending so much time in the Acura showroom during the purchase of my new MDX, the TL started to grow on me, and I really like the layout of the interior (Minus the seats)But I had a moment of clearity and have decided on an '07 IS

As for the cleaner, most cleaners from the store only do a fair job at best.Get the Acura stuff.It was specially formulated to correct their botch job of a dash. :P

I took my 2 month old car to the dealer 3 times to get dash cleaned and it white stuff came back. The Acura client service guy told me to let the car in sun so that all the contaminents come out . for now i use these products to keep it clean

I have an '04, and my dash is not faded either. Mind you, I hardly ever wipe my dash, so there is a fine layer of dust covering my dash. :P Maybe if I wiped off the dust I would see the fading... :blush:

I have an '05 TL which I enjoy very much. It does everything so well...

I did have the "faded dash." Dealer cleaned it up at a service, looks fine. To me, a very minor issue that does not detract from my opinion that the TL offers the most (balanced) car in this price class.

Of course, I'd like a perfect car. I'll let you know when I find it...

I returned from an 11 day trip and my TL was dead. I mean dead. I had AAA come out for a jump and the battery was not holding a charge. Funny thing is I had no prior signals that any problem was brewing, no idiot light message, etc. I took 11 days for the problem to reveal itself.I went to the dealer 6:15 AM waited until they opened at 7AM. Withing the hour, they took the car, confirmed the problem and replaced the battery. No cost, under warranty of course. I sent the serv. Mgr. a letter of thanks. (I would have also sent a letter for negative reasons).

It helps to have all your settings (radio, XM, etc) written down.

So in the end the Cust. Serv. experience was positive.

Minor Problems with my TL: My driver side window makes a funny noise half way down the cycle, like is not tracking correctly or a moving part is rubbing / failing. Other than that it's been a no brainer.There are minor annoyances and finish quality questions.

After renting a Malibu for 11 days ( I'm not knocking it, it serves it's function well) I felt the power, suspension and the low emmittting grunt of my TL. It felt great and firm in it's tracking. I actually smiled, especially when using my manual mode and my right foot. I have POWER.

Look, I dont use these forums for an outlet of anger, or for arguing with people who do not share my opinion.

But the fact is that there are plenty of products that will clean, and another suite of products for conditioning a dashboard in any car.The issue with the dash in the TL is that the materials used in the production process breakdown and cause a hazy coating which can be removed, but this will continue to come back until this breakdown of materials is complete. This is fact and cannot be argued.

As for the fact that any dash in the sun will fade....Only if it's not treated. Any car requires cleaning and conditioning and Armor All is not the only product on the market... and there are a lot of products which will not leave that slimy shine behind.

I understand that some TL dashes never see this phenomenon... but the fact of the matter is that a lot of them do.If the problem has been happening for years, Acura should have, and still should address the issue.

Wow - a new poster who's only 'disappointed' with the 2 minor issues with this car that are typically mentioned, who posts a slam to the car and just mentions these 2 issues, and that's it. No other comments. Just those 2. Only those 2. And done.

Why is the TL such a target for trolls? Cause you get a lot of car for $31K?

I'm open to hearing about my car's problems. But I don't have these dash and rattle and vibration problems with my car, and it seems the TL gets these hit-and-run types coming in with a quick slam. Is it envy? Sure the TL is a nice car, and it isn't perfect, but it ain't a 7 series or a top end Benz. Why the vitriol?

I also have to agree.... but I'm a guy who understands both sides of this coin.

I have plans on buying a new car in approx 6 months.I have my eye on the Lexus IS350.My wife and I just bought an 06 MDX with NAV and RES, and I am very happy with it. It's my daily driver until I get my new car and then it becomes the wife's. While buying this MDX, the TL started to grow on me.I like what it has to offer, but pales in comparison to the Lexus' comfort and service after the sale.... but the TL's price tag is $10,000 less.

With that being said, I am still slightly leaning toward the IS, but I'll wait and see how much the new 07 TL Type-S appeals to me.

I like the look of the iterior on the TL, can live with the exterior (Does nothing for me, just my opinion) But I would hate to drop that much coin on a car and then find that it is showing the same symptoms as seen here.

I would like for the posters in the forum to be fair and accurate with their findings so us "soon to be" owners have facts to go on, and not just opinions on over-inflated issues.

I just noticed a weird phenomenon with my TL. After starting the car, if my first voice command is to turn the air conditioner on, the system will reply (both verbal and action) with a play CD response. I have tried speaking very slowly, and deliberately "Air Conditioner On", but without fail the response would be "CD play disc 1 (or 2, 3, etc)".

This appears to only happen with the "Air Conditioner On" command.

Also, if I utter another voice command first, for example, increase fan speed, and then command air conditioner on, it will respond correctly.

I just noticed today that I have couple of paint chips on the hood. Now I agree that Cincinnati high is full of junk and we constantly get bombarded by rock chips, but I didn't expect the TL's paint to chip so easily. My friend has a civic for about year now with simiarly commute patern, and his car has none as significant as mine.

Now my TL06 has about 4000 miles and is about 2 months old. Anyone think that TL06 has weaker paint?

Why is the TL such a target for trolls? Cause you get a lot of car for $31K?...

I suspect your right..you do get alot of car for the money, and something that we might overlook here.... Just the pure number of 3rd generation Acura TL's sold vs BMW, Lexus, and Infiniti. Your talking about a car that sells 2 or 3X more units per month then it's competition.

If say 5-10% (just picking a number here..) are not happy with their TLs...that is not an insignificant number of people, due to the sheer number of units being pumping out of Ohio. As compared to the number of Lexus-IS,BMW-3,Infinti-G35 units sold in the US.

So any single design problem will tend to be seen/talked about alot more with the TL, then with it's competitors.

SH-AWD is most likely not going to be available in 2007. Acura attempted to make this happen for the 07 model but are unable to successfully squeeze the system into the existing size. They didn't want to rush the necessary changes, so this is slated for the '09's redesigned model.

As for documentation, I have nothing except for the gossip online.

I talked to my dealer. They nag me every time I bring my '06 MDX in for oil changes... since they know I'm currently looking at the Lexus IS... and the TL grew on me a little, due to it's price.

2 of the guys at my dealer went to the Acura conference this year and they were told that the '07 WILL have a Type-S option... and the A-Spec is going away.

I have no idea how a 300+ HP FWD car will do.The existing TL already has torque steer issues.

We'll have to wait and see.Now, the '09 with the Type-S package and SH-AWD... :surprise: That'll be fun to drive!

Really? Like what? Do you own a TL? I've had mine for 7 months an RARELY feel torque steer. Yea I know with FWD and power it can be there, but the torque steer issue is so overblown, unless you're racing your car. And if you're racing, then why did you buy a FWD vehicle?

95% of TL owners probably never push their car to where torque steer is an issue. So who cares about it?